Bad Journalism and Bad Marksmanship

My cousin 88 has an office in the Empire State Building in NYC, so when I noticed the shooting this morning I immediately concluded that cousin 88 was alive and well. If not, Uncle Parsimonious or Auntie Annie would have phoned. As it turned out, Auntie Annie did phone late this morning to convey a (for her) microscopically brief message that 88 was okay and the gunman had been shot to death by police.  Auntie loves to talk on the phone, but today she concluded with something along the lines of "I have to get off the phone now.  'Bye!"  Click.  Dead air space.

Intrigued by the brevity of her call I decided to read the news, and that's where I got a little spun up.  I read three articles in their entirety and scanned a few more, then I applied Ockham's razor (lex parsimoniae) and concluded that, as usual, commercial media bitched it beyond almost all recognition.  I'm not surprised.  I'm pissed off.

Officer Received Assistance

A few days back I wrote the post Officer Needs Assistance, which was actually a plea for Toledo Police Officer Sargent Stringbean, who was trapped inside a TV reality show (Glass House) along with a high-mileage blonde with big tits, a mouthy fat guy and a bunch of other folks.  There was a quarter million shekels at stake, and in order to pad his kick the illustrious Sargent Stringbean needed everyone's vote.

On behalf of Sargent Stringbean (AKA Sargent Kevin Braun) and his friends, family, in-laws and fellow co-workers, I would like to offer a very sincere thank you, along with a tip of the old fedora and a hoist of the afternoon bourbon glass, to all of you who took the time to vote for Sargent Kevin Braun.  Kevin won.

Congratulations to Kevin Braun

How's it feel to be a quarter-mil to the good?  Next round's on you, bro!

You can read about the whole business in great detail in Glass City sergeant wins $250,000 on 'Glass House'.  I find that this is fitting, Stringbean being from the glass city and all and him not being independently wealthy... at least, not before going on the show.  I think, though, that in the interests of full disclosure, professional reputation and moral integrity, I should state that if not for Sollecks and, to a lesser extent Partner, I would have voted for the blonde with the big tits and high mileage.  Hey, a woman like that could ruin a man - if he was lucky.

Blog Meme: Six Songs

I found this at Bayou Renaissance Man: Another blog meme - 'Six Songs Of Me' and decided to write about it.  My own six selections are not particularly enlightening, so feel free to get on with your life.  Should idle curiosity get the better of you, continue reading.

From "victim" to Victimized to Victory

On November 21st, 2011 Lamar Allen and Joseph Hunter unsuccessfully attempted to rob Express Carryout on Mulberry Street in Toledo.  Both men were armed, one with a TEC-9.  The clerk, Bandar Abu-Karsh, did as he was told by the robbers.  He gave up the money and hid behind the counter - where he could hear the robbers discussing what to do with him.  The conversation was headed in a direction Bandar didn't care for (they favored killing Bandar), so Bandar got his hands on the 9mm pistol kept behind the counter by the store owner and popped up yelling "Surprise!  School's out!" and put some lead in the air.

On Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 (almost 9 months later) the dust finally settled and Bandar is now a free man.  Keep reading to find out what happened.

Officer Needs Assistance

At least I think that's the official radio distress call.  I could be wrong about that, so any law enforcement officers who are reading this, please do not hesitate to correct me.  The deal here is that one Toledo police officer has asked for a little help on behalf of another.  Keep reading to find the straight skinny on why and how - and no, it's not a plea for money.

Attention Please!

It seems that Gun Nuts is Hiring!, and naturally I believe that I, Mad Jack, am the best choice for the position. Not everyone may agree with me, but I don't care about them. I only care what Caleb thinks.

Anyway, if several thousand of my regular readers would follow the link over to Gun Nuts and recommend my mother's favorite son (that would be me, Mad Jack) for the position, I'd be grateful.  Reasonably grateful, anyway.

Failing several thousand, if two or three of you would recommend me I'd have a warm fuzzy feeling without the bourbon... and hey, we all need a new experience from time to time, right?

Why Gun Owners Worry About Gun Control Rumors

The Brady Bunch and their anti-freedom crowd allies have hit the jackpot and are at it again.  They've got James E. Holmes shooting up a theater followed by Wade Michael Page throwing lead in a Sikh Temple.  In the wake of this I've been getting one call to action after another from every gun rights group in the U.S., each and every one of whom has a different facet of the same agenda - collect money to fight the anti-gun zealots in Washington D.C. because (insert anti-freedom zealot of choice) is trying to (insert legalistic legislative rumor here).

The trouble is that all of these rumors sound like credible threats, and they shouldn't.  Here's why.

Chick-fil-A Debacle

I've been watching the news about Chick-fil-A and various protest movements, either in support or opposition, and I really don't get the fascination.  I did a little research about the company and its founder, then I read a few of the articles about the recent protests.  Here's what I came up with.

Miscellaneous Ramblings

I haven't felt like writing lately, mainly because I've been depressed over the complete and total failure of my efforts to lose weight and get into better physical condition.  By way of comparison my weight loss efficacy makes the Obama administration look like the second coming, complete with a guest appearance by an exulted heavenly choir singing Ludwig Van Beethoven's Ode to Joy .

All that aside, here are a few short rants and one or two paragraphs of gratitude, one way or another.